USATF Foundation Grantees Rise Up at the World Indoor Championships

BIRMINGHAM – The IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, England allowed for an exhilarating weekend filled with tears and heartache but Team USA still dominated the podium walking away with 18 medals – 6 Gold, 10 Silver and 2 Bronze. 24 members of those who competed are recent USATF Foundation grant award winners announced Foundation Executive Director Tom Jackovic and Chairman Bob Greifeld.

“I was very pleased with the performances from the USATF Indoor Championships and overall representation of our Foundation grantees at the IAAF World Indoor Championship meet,” said Preston Johnson, USATF Foundation Board Director.

Though there were several disqualifications, the USATF Foundation grantees persevered and came away with hardware.

The 2017 Stephen A. Schwarzman grantees to bring home medals were:

Kendra Harrison – Gold medal with a championship record of 7.70 in the 60m hurdles

Will Claye – Gold medal in the Triple Jump at 17.43

Quanera Hayes – Led off Team U.S.A. in the 4x400m relay and helped win them a Gold medal at 3:23.85, which was a championship record

Christina Manning – Silver medal in the 60m hurdles at 7.79

Vashti Cunningham – Silver medal in the High Jump at 1.93

Sam Kendricks -Silver medal in the Pole Vault at 5.85

Drew Windle – Silver medal in the 800m in 1:47.9

Elite Athlete Development grantees from this year to stun the field and took home medals were:

Georganne Moline – Gold medal in the 4×400 relay

Jarret Eaton – Silver medal in the 60m hurdles at 7.47

Vernon Norwood – Silver medal in the 4×400 relay at 3:01.97

Ronnie Baker – Bronze medal in the 60m at 6.44

Athletes will continue training for the upcoming 2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha and ultimately the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020. “The hard work never ends for athletes at this level,”said Foundation Executive Director Tom Jackovic. “It’s nice to see so many of our grantees rewarded for their efforts with medals.”

The USA Track & Field Foundation provides a means to attract and guide funds to new and innovative track & field programs with an emphasis on providing opportunities for youth athletes, emerging elite athletes and distance training centers. The Foundation depends upon donations from its Board of Directors, major gifts and from generous fans of track & field.

Elite athletes are supported by the Foundation via monetary grants and participation in Run With US! (www.runwithus.org). Youth athletes are supported via monetary grants to youth clubs.

Testimonials

I just wanted to thank you for awarding Bell Oaks Upper Elementary School a USATF Foundation Youth Grant. With your grant, we were able to purchase new, real uniforms and compete in 9 meets. The kids felt much more confident and excelled more this year. Thank you so much!